The markets traded mixed during the midday with the Dow losing 37 points to 18,455. Nasdaq rose 7 points to 5,105.
As part of its strategy to distinguish itself in a saturated smartphone market, BlackBerry imbedded encryption capabilities into its latest handset. The company dubbed it's latest product the world's most secure smartphone. The DTEK50 software will encrypt all data on the phone including photos and videos and will install security updates as soon as they are released.
Human resources software startup Zenefits will pay the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance $62,500 to settle charges that company employees sold insurance without appropriate licenses. The controversy had forced founder and chief executive officer Parker Conrad to resign in February. California, Massachusetts and Washington are also investigating Zenefits.
Amazon will begin testing and developing its Prime Air drone delivery system in the UK. UK regulators will allow Amazon to fly drones beyond the pilot's line of vision and to test proximity censors that will aid the drone in avoiding collisions. Prime Air will deliver packages up to 5 pounds within 30 minutes of completing an order.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 slipped a point to 2,167. Bitcoin lost $2 to $649.
